Moving-picture machine.



P. A. COLE. MOVING PICTURE MACHINE. APPLIOAIION fun mum, 1910.1,024,975. Patented Apr. 30, 1912.

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nflunannn P. A. com MOVING PICTURE MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED PEBLI,1910v Patented Apr. 30, 1912.

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P A.. COLE.

MOV ING PICTURE MACHINE rum-non FILED r2341, 1910.

1,024,975. Patented Apr. 30, 1912.

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wuwtow 7 line FRANK COLE, 0F PATTO'N, PENNSYLVANIA.

MOVING-PICTURE MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed February 1, 1910. Serial No. 541,331.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, FRANK A. COLE, a citizenof the United States, residing at Patton, in the county of Cambria andState of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvementsin Moving-Picture Machinesyand I do hereby declare the following to be afull, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enableothers skilled inthe .art to .which itappertains to make and use thesame.

This invention relates to improvements in moving picture machines, andparticularly to improved means for shutting oft the beam of lightpassing through the machine dur ing the movement of the film.

One of the objects of the invention is the arrangement of a shuttermechanism, and means for operating the same so as to effect theadjustment in such a manner as to present a substantially continuousbeam of light, and at the same time to cause a film to be properlyexposed.

Another object of the invention is the arrangement of a shuttermechanism and cam for operating the same which will move the shutter toan open or closed position as determined by the shape of the cam forpermitting the passage of light through the machine for the desiredtime, and then shutting off the light during the'movement of the film sothat no light will be thrown on the canvas during the moving of thefilm, and no blurringwill be the result.

With these and other objects in view the invention comprises certainnovel constructions, combinations and arrangement of parts as willbe-hereinafter fully described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings: Figure l is an elevation of the machinelooking from the front with the front plate removed. Fig. 2 is alongitudinal vertical section through the machine shown in Fig. 1 onFig.3 is a'detail perspective view of a swinging film adjuster. Fig. 4is a front view of a shutter embodying certain features of theinvention. I Fig. 5 is a section through Fig. 4:, approximately on line55 Fig. 6 is a side elevation of the machine, certain parts beingremoved.

In the construction of moving picture machinesorkinetoscopes it is aimedto so rapidly mo'vea. film'across a beam of llght as to give whatappears to be, a continuous picture on the canvas. In moving the filmacross the beam of light the beam of light mustbe shut off during themovement of the film and permitted to be projected upon 7 the canvasonly while the film is stationary, so as to eliminate flickering orflashing, and to give a steady picture. The aim in constructing machinesof this character is to expose the film as long as possible to the beamof light. In arranging means for permitting the beam of light to exposethe picture for a longer time than the picture ishidden from view animproved shutter s arranged in the path of the beam of light andoperated by means connected with the film feeding rolls for properlytiming the shutting off of the light. A plurality of spring operatedcams and associated parts are connected with the means for shifting theshutter so that the same will automatically be shifted in proper timedrelation to the movement of the film for causing the beam of light toremain longer on the canvas and make the period of darkness less.

In order that the invention may be more fully understood reference ishad to the accompanying drawings, in which 1 indicates a framework ofany desired kind, upon which the various parts of the device aremounted. The various film feeding means and operating parts thereof,together with frame 1, are fully disclosed and claimed in my formerPatent, #947,093, issued January 18, 1910, and are shown in thisapplication simply for disclosing how the shutter mechanism and the filmadjusting mechanism operate and the combination of the same with amoving picture mechanism.

.However, in order to make the matter more clear it will be observedthat there are mounted at the upper end of framework 1 a pair of rollers2 and at the lower end a pair of rollers 8. Rollers 2 and 3 are bothprovided with teeth or spurs for engaging the apertures in the side ofthe film for guiding and feeding the film through the machine, roller 52being arranged to'supply the film or feed the same into the machine, androller 3 being designed to, pull or move the film from the machine.Mounted nearrollers 2 are rollers 75 designed to keep the film inengagement with; the spurs or teeth. Rollers 2 and rollers 3 aredesigned to be continuously moving as long as the machine in operation,but the film moves intermittently past the shutter a which is in aline-Patented Apr. 30, 1912. i

ment with the'lens 6. The lens 6 and asso- Lni ciated parts are of anydesired or preferred structure, and will therefore need no furtherdescription.

The intermittent movement of the film is caused by the feeding rollers 8mounted upon swinging frame 9. These feeding rollers draw the film pastthe beam of light which is projected through shutter iwhen the same isopen, and do so inter w ile the feeding rollers t feed the film from theloop 10 3 period in which the picture jected throu h c lens the i arybut rollers 2 and 3 are moving. its roller 2 continues yet the film infront of lens 6 the film is bulged or bowed out and terms a loop whichpermits or presents ample film for permitting the sudden or merit ofroller 8 to draw another front of lens As roller 8 is g1 termittcntmovement and film along the loop 10 is necessar- 3 is continuous continuously to move and in its movement.

In this manner as rolle moves loop 10 will reduced in until a quickmovement of roller as will cause additional film to he forced pastroller 8 and the loop 10 e This action is continued as long as chine isin operation. The loop of the machine is designed to p i sudden movementof the film past and to supply a proper amount of cose film at alltimes. From this it will he oserved that the film is continuously andevenly fed into the machine and removed from. the machin 7 but is int'mittentl; mo ed past the e time in which the rollonary the film infront of lens 6 nary, and consequently a light pass- 1 'ethrougn rillproject picture upon the canvas, hutter being also open at this time. lis loos ly mounted upon s Roller S shaft 12 and is arranged to be movedor rotated by a spring 13 fastened to the hub of roller 8 and if desiredmay be passed entirely therethrough and bent over or clenched so as toprevent any accidental re moval thereof. Spring 13 surrounds part ofshaft- 12 and engages at the end opposite rollers S the shaft 1 and isconnected therewith in any desired manner so that Whenshaft 12 isrotated the spring Will be wound or brought under tension for movingrollers 8 when the same are released from the double acting lever 1%.One of the rollers 8 is provided with an extension 15 having a pluralityof cams thereon for engagement by lever 14 which is pivotally mounted onthe swinging frame 9. The opposite end of lever 14 engages a cam wheell6 rigidly connected to sleeve 17. Shaft 17 carries a gear wheel 18 andreceives motion through idlers The cares arranged on wheel 16 arearranged to move lever 9 so as to release the cams on extension 15 forper.-v mi'ting the spring 13- to rotate rollers S at the time that cam21 closes shutter l.

The cams on wheel 16 are so arranged as to permit the partial rotationof the Wheel before lever 9 is again operated for releasing r llers 8 sothat cs cam 21 rotates the shutter 4- will he opened immediately afterthe film has sto ed moving, and will remain open llllill. rollers 8begin to move again whereupon the sl'nitter ill be again closed. llS acIn be maintained in this relation durmg the entire movement of themachine. The gear wheel 18 connected with shaft 17 communicates power tospring 22 which is connected at one end to shaft 17. Spring 22 isconnected at the opposite end to a roller 23 which is rigidly secured toa sleeve 1'? mounted on shaft 1'? and carrying cams 21 and wheel Thiswill'cause power to be conveyed to the film and shutter through springs13 and 22 so as to give a quick IDOVQIHQL-C thereto. Tl heel is providedwith a plurality of stops engaged by levers 24-. and operated by steps26 and 21" rigidly secured to a continuously rot/ah ing; shaft 28. Shaft28 has connected therewith a gear wheel 29* which receives power fromgear wheel. 18 tirough idlers 30. B this arrangement whene er shaft 28has made a. complete 'olution stop 27 will be rotated for engagi leverwhich will raise the lGTEI or go the same from the stop that is engtthereby formed on wheel 23 for aquick rotary movenie' the or sleeve 17',ll gcther r h the p connected thcrwv it h under the action of sprung 22.Only u pa iial revolution is made lever 24; entrant a stop after thewheel 23 we moved epic lttermined distance. After a predetermined timehas elapsed stop 26 will engage lever 24: and disengage the same fromwheel so to permit another partialrevolutio'n of wheel 23 whichcontinue: its rotary movement until lever has again engaged a stopprovided therefor on wheel 23.

During the operation of the machine shaft 17 is continuously moving butsleeve 17' is moved intermittently under the action of spring 22 so thatwheel 16 will move intermittently and intermittently operate lever 14which releases at intervals rollers 8. The action of these various partsis designed to intermittently move the film pastshut-ter 4 and shutter lis connected with these parts through cam 21 for causing the same to actin proper relation thereto. Cam 21 is formed, with a cam groove thereinwith offset portions 31 which are comparatively short in length so thatthe movement of the shutter operating lever will be very quick. When thesleeve rotates for eventually i setting in. motion the film, cam 21moves and lever 32 is forced into one of the offset portions 31 andremains in that portion during the movement of the film and immediatelymoves outof said offset portion at the termination of the movement ofthe film. This movement is so quick as to appear to the eye to be acontinuous movement in and out, though, of course, there is a slightpause in the movement of the shutter bythe fact that the offset portion31 is slightly elongated. This pause is sufiicient for permitting thecomplete movement of the film.

The shutter 4 is more clearly shown in Figs. 4 and 5 to which especialattention is now directed. The shutter 4 is provided with a frame orhousing 33 preferably secured to tubes 34 and 35 which are connectedwith the frame work 1 in any desired manner. The frame or housing 33 ispreferably made in two part-s and secured together by any desired means,asfor instance screws 36. The respective parts of housing 33 are formedwith grooves 37 and 38 which accommodate annular beads or ridges 39 and40 formed on ring 41. Projecting from ring 41 is operating lever 32which fits into the cam groove of cam 21 and is moved back and forththereby for oscillating ring 41. This oscillatory movement is conveyedto any desired number of shutters 42 through pins: 43. Pins 43 passthrough suitable slots 44 which permit the desired movement of theshutters which are pivotally mounted at 45 to the housing 33. Inmounting the shutters 42 the same are preferably arranged to slightlyoverlap in order to positively prevent the passage of any light when theshutters are .closed. The pivotal member 45 and pin 43 are set at asuflicient distance apart for permitting the oscillatory movement ofring 41 caused by cam 21 to fully open the respective shutters and fullyclose the same. If it is desired at any time to cause the shutters toremain open longer or shorter all that is necessary is to change cam 21so that the offset portion 31 will have a shorter or longer portion forthe travel of 'lever 32 as the shutter is closed during the movement oflever 32 through the offset portion 31. p

Pivo-tally mounted upon shaft '17 is a swinging frame 9 which may becalled a film adjuster. Frame 9 is preferably con structed ofcomparatively heavy material so as to be freely operated and to properlystand all strains thereon in any 13251111011 in which it may be moved.The frame 9 car ries shaft 12 upon which rollers 8 and surroundingpart-s aremounted. The shaft 12 is journaled in the side members offrame 9 but has one end thereof extending through one side of frame 1 towhich is rigidly secured gear wheel 19 to which power is trans mittedfrom shaft 17 through gear 18, idlers 20, and associated parts. A slot46 (Fig. 2)

is provided in the side of framework 1 for permitting the swingingmovement of frame 9. In order to provide means readily acces sible forquickly adjusting frame 9 ;at any desired time a rack 47 is rigidlysecured-toone end of frame 9 and meshes with the gear wheel 48 carriedby shaft 49. Shaft 49 is journaled in framework 1' and extends throughthe side of the framework 1 in which the slot 46 is formed and hasconnected therewith at the outer end an adjusting arm 50. To arm 50 isconnected a spring pressed catch 51 which engages segment or rack 52whereby the lever is locked in any to gear wheel 18 through idlers 59.Gear wheel 18 is rigidly secured to shaft 17 for. conveying powerthereto from which power is supplied to spring 22 for operating wheel 23and surrounding parts, and also for con veying power to gear wheel 18and associated parts. In this manner power is conveyed to theintermittent rollers 8 and to the intermittent wheels 23 and 16 and tocam 21, whereby shutter 4 is operated in proper timed relationship tothe movement of the film, and rollers 8 are released at the proper timefor permitting spring 13 to move the film, while the shutter 4' isclosed. Gear wheel 18 transmits power from shaft 17 to gear wheel 29,through suitable idlers 30. Gear wheel 29 is rigidly secured to shaft 28so that when the same is rotated the mem bers carrying lugs 26 and 27will be rotated for operating levers 24 and 25 in proper timedrelationship-to the operation of the remaining parts of the mechanism.In fact the movement of. lugs 26 and 27 releases operating levers 24 and25, and thereby deter.- mines the time of operation and movement of allof the intermittent moving parts of the device. The gear' wheel 30carries a shaft 30 to whicli is secured a fly wheel for giving a moreeven movement to the entire machine. Gear wheel 29 meshes with a gearwheel 60 which is secured to shaft 61. Shaft 61 carries the rollers 2which are rigidly secured thereto so that Whenever gear wheel.

are provided with power from a single source, and are arranged tooperate in a e the right time.

to be projected on the-canvas.

proper manner and in a proper direction for accomplishing the variousobjects of the invention, and for acting in unison so that each partwill perform the duties thereof at After the film has been threadedthrough the machine and ov r the r Jpective rollers 2, S and 3 themachine is Of course, any desired lri used for projecting a beam of theshutter when open, and throngl the lens, together with the film. AftertLe machine is in this condition the crank may he rotated at any desiredspeed and by the particular construction and arrangement; set forth thespeed may he comparatively slow and yet no flickering of the light willresult as the light is shut off a very short time in comparison to thetime the light is permitted Of course, the speed may be increased ordecreased at will, regulated by the speed of the crank T /hat .l claimis:

1, The combination with a moving picture machine arranged with means forpassing a film therethrough, and causing the movement ofthe film to beintermittent, ,of a shutteroperating cam, a sleeve for operating saidcam, a spring for rotating said sleeve, means for connecting said springthrough wagers closing said shutter, and means for causing.

an intermittent movement of said sleeve in timed relationship to theintermittent movement of the film for causing the shutter to closeduring the movement of the film.

2. The combination with a moving picture machine arranged with means forpassin a film theretl'nougln of a shutter dered to close during themovement of said film an arm for opening and closing said shutter a camfor moving said arm, a sleeve for rota? 5 said cam a spring connected atone end to said sleeve, a gear wheel connected wit: the end of saidspring not connected to'said sleeve, means for transmitting power tosaid gear wheel from the means operating said film, and means forcausing an intermittentmovement of said sleeve in timed relationship tothe intermittent movement oi the film, whereby the shutter is closedwhile the film is moving.

In testimony whereof I allir; my signature in presence of two witnesses.

FRANK A. (YOLE.

Witnesses:

J 019m L. Fneronnn, A. L. Krronrzv.

